But there is hope — and a whole
new approach — coming from an unusual gathering later this month.
Representatives of 50 governments will meet with ordinary people and social
movement leaders from around the world in Cochabamba, Bolivia, to work on solutions to
what may be the biggest threat ever faced by humankind.

The Copenhagen talks ended
with little more than some nonbinding goals that, even if they were
met, would result in nearly four degrees Celsius of warming. That's
nowhere near the one to two degrees
that scientists say is the most the climate can safely withstand if we are to
maintain human civilization as we've known
it. The gathering in Bolivia will differ radically from Copenhagen.

The Bolivia talks, entitled "The Peoples' Conference
on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth," turn
away from the failed approaches of the world's rich and powerful governments
and corporations, which are reluctant to risk losing wealth and status due to the scale of change
needed to address climate disruption. Instead, the Cochabamba meeting will start with the values and priorities of
ordinary people—those who did little to create the climate crisis and did not profit from it, but who will
lose big if nothing is done to stop it.

December's climate talks in Copenhagen took as a given the worldview
that got us into this climate quagmire — the belief, for example, that the Earth
is primarily a source of raw materials and a dumping ground for the pollution
and throw-away products that result from a global corporate economy.

The summit in Cochabamba comes at the climate
crisis from a very different direction, beginning with the call from
Evo Morales, the first indigenous president of
Bolivia, to recognize
the rights of Mother Earth.

"If we are all part of a single interdependent
system, why should only humans have rights, and nature be treated simply as the
object of human interests?" reads a conference statement. "Only by
recognizing and defending the rights of Mother Earth can we restore balance on
the planet. ... As long as humans treat Mother Earth as a slave with no rights,
it will be impossible to recover our humanity."

Unlike the Copenhagen process, which was built on the belief that
humans will always strive for more and more economic growth and
consumerism, the Bolivian organizers draw on a strong indigenous
tradition that
emphasizes living well over having more. And organizers
question the assumption that global capitalism will continue to
dominate an
ever-growing world economy. Instead, the Cochabamba summit will explore
alternatives that "challenge the current system based on consumption,
waste, and the marketing of all aspects of life and nature."

And summit organizers promise an open process:
"Unlike Copenhagen, there will be no secret discussions behind closed
doors," writes Pablo Solón Romero, Bolivia's ambassador to the United
Nations, in a March 19 column in the UK's Guardian newspaper.
Instead, the process will be led by those "on the frontlines of climate
change, and by organizations and individuals dedicated to tackling the climate
crisis."

Participants at the Cochabamba summit will develop ways to measure
the climate debt that the wealthy nations—where just 20 percent
of the world's population lives—owe the rest of the world for having
emitted 75
percent of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Organizers are calling
for
binding agreements, with United Nation sanctions for those who fail to
live
up to their climate commitments.

Instead of leading the talks, world governments are invited to
"listen to
the voices of civil society and together develop common proposals,"
says Solón. "We hope that this unique format will help shift
power back to the
people, which is where it needs to be on this critical issue for all
humanity."

And that shift may be the real game changer as climate talks move
from Copenhagen to Cochabamba. The failure of December's talks shows
the hazard of leaving this urgent issue to governments, whose close
ties to big
oil, gas, coal, and the global finance industry make it difficult or impossible for
them to
lead the way to a future built on clean energy, sustainable
agriculture, and
climate-friendly forestry.

The People's Summit in Cochabamba could be a turning
point where it becomes clear that ensuring a livable planet for our children means
we, the people, must stand up to any corporation or government that refuses to either lead on
climate solutions or get out of the way. But being part of the Cochabamba
movement also means that we step up to the climate challenge by bringing our homes, communities,
and workplaces into harmony with Mother Earth and becoming her nonviolent
defenders.

YES! Magazine will be covering The Peoples' Conference
on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth, which will take place April 19-22, at www.yesmagazine.org.

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Sarah
van Gelder wrote this article for YES! Magazine, a national, nonprofit media
organization that fuses powerful ideas with practical actions. Sarah is
co-founder and executive editor of YES! Magazine.